Note: This was written almost exclusively on my smartphone, and then hastily spackled together as soon as I had access to a working laptop. Needless to say, my current commitment to cogent argument is about as strong as Tyler Myers's commitment to completing passes out of the zone.

Nailed it.

Let's get something out of the way early, shall we? The Sabres are a good hockey team. For all the griping amongst the fanbase about defensive lapses or offensive slumps or goaltending performances - all of which can cause their fair share of hair-pulling in any given game - there is enough talent on the team that I am generally willing to believe that this team will put together enough wins to get into the playoffs and make a decent run of it. I'm excited about that.

That caveat out of the way, the Sabres deeper and more fundamental problem as I see it, and has been shouted from the mountaintops in the 19 or so hours since last night's festival of suck - rearing it's ugly head early in the season, familiar to fans of this team who cherish grit and heart and pride and self-preservation up and down the roster - is testicular.